Corners

[dougcollins]

I didn’t think this was even a possibility, but they’re getting worse.

Can’t take them, can’t defend them.

[Bosscat]

I blame Santa for gifting the under 7 team lads easy goals at 1/ time

[NickBFC]

Agree. Barely ever beat the first man when taking one, and usually look like conceding when trying to defend one. Not one physically dominant player in the squad.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

On the bbc commentary they mentioned that at that point we’d had 91 corners this season and scored 1 goal from them

Clearly something needs to be done about that

[Steve-Harpers-perm]

We pay a set piece coach. Let that sink in! It’s like a litter of who can cross it to the first defender or launch a free kick into row z.

[BurnleyFC]

It’s infuriating.

Bruun Larsen wants his wage docking for the dross from corner kicks today.

[alboclaret]

Wtf was that larson fella playing at today. Kin el I've never seen a worse set of corners. Bit like the rest of his touches.
He got in all the best positions of anyone and then the ball came off his feet at all kinds of random angles.

If I hadn't of known better I'd have thought he was ****** up.

[NickBFC]

It’s infuriating.

Bruun Larsen wants his wage docking for the dross from corner kicks today.

Must have had lessons from Josh

[dougcollins]

It was only a matter of time before a random big bloke headed in at the far stick. Just a bit of a surprise it took them three corners to do it.

[NickBFC]

Wtf was that larson fella playing at today. Kin el I've never seen a worse set of corners. Bit like the rest of his touches.
He got in all the best positions of anyone and then the ball came off his feet at all kinds of random angles.

If I hadn't of known better I'd have thought he was ****** up.

He did put one belting cross in and not one of three players gambled on it. Agree the rest was woeful though.

[helmclaret]

You’d think with our tricky, ‘technical’ forwards we would come up with a bit of imagination when it comes to set pieces and try a few different routines.

[Goliath]

They were genuinely baffling today. We were scared to put them in the box, but then the short corners seemed like they were being done off the cuff with know real plan behind them. Im sure that wasn't the case but we really need to improve them, its such a wasted opportunity. Everton won 3 points today just by being good at set pieces and solid.

[Cheshireclaret]

It's okay though, we've got a set piece specialist.

I really do question what on EARTH that man is being paid for? He springs to his feet every time we win a free kick / corner / throw-in and replaces VK on the edge of the technical area. The players then manage to make a complete and utter mess of whichever set piece we are presented with and it's embarrassing and pathetic. And to cap it all, defending from set pieces is utter gash and we look like conceding every time the ball is pumped into the 18-yard box.

It's a joke and it needs sorting immediately. It's like employing Allen Stanford as the FD!

[spt_claret]

All this when the best set piece specialist we had is out on loan. Not saying Twine is good enough for the Prem, we don't know and realistically probably not, but he'd at least put a free kick or corner in well.

[CrosspoolClarets]

All in agreement of course but regarding the defensive corners was that Everton goal only the 2nd header we have conceded from this season, after Trossard?

Instinct is we aren’t as bad at those as it seems.

[helmclaret]

Didn’t our current CFO/FD come from Everton last season?

Eddie Howe had Bournemouth doing some really imaginative stuff from corners a few years ago. We need to do something different.

[Burnleyareback2]

Opposition teams have more of an advantage than we do when we win a corner… that’s how bad it is.

[NewClaret]

It’s infuriating.

Bruun Larsen wants his wage docking for the dross from corner kicks today.

My wife said this today - that they should all lose their wages this week.

JBL was so poor. How professional footballers, paid to play football, can deliver quite so many dreadful dead balls is utterly beyond me.

[NewClaret]

It’s quite hard to fathom

We don’t need a set piece coach. All we need to do is watch how Everton take them - they’re brilliant at them.

We don’t have to overcomplicate dead balls. Just get them in to the box. The one we took today with 10 minutes to go and two goals down was just the most woeful. I can’t abide that.

[DCWat]

If only it was just corners (at either end) that was the sole issue.

There are a variety of issues across the team, yet there seems to be little being done to solve many of them. It seems to be rinse and repeat, in the hope of a different outcome.

Of course a huge part of the problem is personnel. I don’t think I’ll ever get my head around us spending such huge amounts and yet still having so many obvious shortcomings.

[NewClaret]

Opposition teams have more of an advantage than we do when we win a corner… that’s how bad it is.

I would do nothing in training all week this week than practice taking proper corners,

[daveisaclaret]

In a way it's pretty impressive that the short corners are even worse than the corners that hit the man at the front post.

In all likelihood given the sizes of each side we would always be on a hiding to nothing from our corners today, but what hurts is that felt like we weren't even trying.

[dsr]

It’s quite hard to fathom

We don’t need a set piece coach. All we need to do is watch how Everton take them - they’re brilliant at them.

We don’t have to overcomplicate dead balls. Just get them in to the box. The one we took today with 10 minutes to go and two goals down was just the most woeful. I can’t abide that.

I know how Everton do it. 1. Get one of the best crossers of the ball in the game. 2. Aim for one of many players who are vastly taller than the opposition.

I'm not sure, with our squad, that that is really an option.

[dougcollins]

In a way it's pretty impressive that the short corners are even worse than the corners that hit the man at the front post.

In all likelihood given the sizes of each side we would always be on a hiding to nothing from our corners today, but what hurts is that felt like we weren't even trying.

That’s what it looks like to me - they’re going through the motions of something they know isn’t going to work.

[ksrclaret]

I just burst out laughing deep into the second half when we got a corner, played 3 short passes and it finished with Delcroix punting out for a goal kick.

I'm at the pity stage now with the manager.

[NewClaret]

I know how Everton do it. 1. Get one of the best crossers of the ball in the game. 2. Aim for one of many players who are vastly taller than the opposition.

I'm not sure, with our squad, that that is really an option.

I take your point that our height and general physicality deficiency disadvantages us.

But for as long as corners have existed, they’ve been swung in to the box. It’s like the most basic skill in football practiced by all teams, not all of which have massive players, yet we seem incapable of it.

Put a good ball in to the box on to the head of our players and it should create a goal scoring opportunity even with a height differential. Foster got one today but put it wide, for example.

What I don’t believe though is how in a squad as large as we have, there’s not one player good enough to deliver consistently good balls into the box. In my kids team
I have two who can whip in in swingers from either side and they do it consistently well on full sized pitches aged 12. If they can do it I’m pretty sure pro’s should be able to.

The plan isn’t to score from all of them but get 10 in a game (felt like we had that many today) and you should be making the keeper work off a few of them. Or setting up to win the second ball and getting shots away.

I also don’t like out swingers, where the ball is going away from goal. Bend it in.

But my big frustration is at 2-0 down not putting it in. Every corner should be in to the box at 2-0 down. Ditto free kicks that we for some reason insist on taking short and passing it around the back some more.

[NewClaret]

I just burst out laughing deep into the second half when we got a corner, played 3 short passes and it finished with Delcroix punting out for a goal kick.

I'm at the pity stage now with the manager.

Can’t say laughing was what I was doing.

[ksrclaret]

Can’t say laughing was what I was doing.

What were you doing?

[NewClaret]

What were you doing?

I was actually booing which I never do because I don’t like it but nothing at all annoys me more than us being wasteful at 2-0 down.

[dougcollins]

I just burst out laughing deep into the second half when we got a corner, played 3 short passes and it finished with Delcroix punting out for a goal kick.

I'm at the pity stage now with the manager.

And I think it was the one before that ended up with Trafford.

[claptrappers_union]

Speaking as a fat, forty-year-old bloke… I reckon I could take a better corner kick than some Premier League players today.

[Claretforever]

When we get corners we’d be best setting the players up in our half read for a goal kick, and then just putting the ball out of play. It’d save time and reduce the risk of a break away.

[taio]

The balls into the box yesterday were pathetic. Larsen's corners were as bad as it gets, yet he was allowed to continue. Show some leadership - either from the manager or captain - and take Larsen off the corners.

[beddie]

The couple of short corners were dreadful, losing possession and not even getting them into the box.

[superdimitri]

Tresor needs to take them but he's a liability in defence playing on the wing.

[HuncoatClaret]

All in agreement of course but regarding the defensive corners was that Everton goal only the 2nd header we have conceded from this season, after Trossard?

Instinct is we aren’t as bad at those as it seems.

I'm sure Arsenal scored a simple header from a corner against us.

[Garnerssoap]

How come Dwight didn’t take them like that for us

[Luppy]

Unless JBG is on the pitch, we may as well not bother

Hopeless both ends of the pitch

[Aclaret]

I just burst out laughing deep into the second half when we got a corner, played 3 short passes and it finished with Delcroix punting out for a goal kick.

I'm at the pity stage now with the manager.

Similar situation in 2nd half, we had a free kick deep in their half and the ball was played back ! Eventually to our centre backs......whilst 2 nil down !
Can't understand it.

[Quickenthetempo]

How come Dwight didn’t take them like that for us

He did.

Both him and Westwood were superb at delivering corners for us.

[claptrappers_union]

All in agreement of course but regarding the defensive corners was that Everton goal only the 2nd header we have conceded from this season, after Trossard?

Instinct is we aren’t as bad at those as it seems.

Get your big players around Trafford and float the ball in. You are likely to score.

[SalisburyClaret]

In the second half, 3 of our corners ended up with Trafford - no team can survive in the PL without being excellent at set plays and we have absolutely no idea what to do.

Dyche played his usual tactic at corners - send the ball to the far post and have your big lads run onto it - it works well

There’s no excuse for getting this aspect of the game so wrong.

[SPC&G]

I think Sean Dyche had worked on this and that explained his wry smile when they scored from a corner. When a plan comes together.

[Garnerssoap]

He did.

Both him and Westwood were superb at delivering corners for us.

I remember westwoods after he scored one he repeated the trajectory and it was quite exciting for a while. Dwight’s must have passed me by.

[Quickenthetempo]

I remember westwoods after he scored one he repeated the trajectory and it was quite exciting for a while. Dwight’s must have passed me by.

You probably just took it for granted that professional footballers can cross a ball, under no pressure.

[IanMcL]

On the bbc commentary they mentioned that at that point we’d had 91 corners this season and scored 1 goal from them

Clearly something needs to be done about that

Growth hormones all round.

[Conroysleftfoot]

It is perplexing why are corners are so poor. We know that we are struggling height wise against alot of these Premier League players but, surely, with the amount of time we spend on the training ground we could come up with some solutions.

[Jamesy]

Corners? Aah that old chestnut.
I sit in BL five rows back behind the home dugout. I have to watch the set piece muppet come out into the technical area when we get a corner or a free kick. I am tempted to shout and ask this guy just what it is he does during the week? Having said that, on the occasions that we get a corner it is an ideal time to nip for a quick wee as I know the ball isn’t going to end up in the opposition’s net.
As for defending corners ? We all know what usually happens here. Chaos and cheaply conceded goals.

[lewishamclaret]

I genuinely couldn't believe the corners today. We keep telling ourselves that we have technically gifted players, and it's just a matter of time. But our own delivery of corners was inexcusable at any kind of level, never mind the Premier League

[TheFamilyCat]

Amazing how JBL has gone from being the saviour-in-waiting when he couldn’t get a game to the latest boo boy in the space of three starts.

Classic UTC.